Rail locomotives provide a vital transportation service for both passengers and freight across the world.

Working round-the-clock, they are expected to deliver unrivalled reliability, which is made possible through regular maintenance and provision of modernisation programmes delivered by the train manufacturers. These are delivered in partnership with trusted equipment manufacturers that have the expertise and knowledge to meet the exacting standards of the industry.

Ralph Breuer, Director of Engineering & Product Management and Mustafa Metin, Product Specialist for Elastic Couplings at Stromag, examine the challenges of developing new components for existing rolling stock.

A new USA material handling equipment store has gone live at fadequipmentstore.com, offering free shipping on all products.

Headquartered in South Carolina, fadequipmentstore.com puts lifting, material handling, safety and load monitoring products a click away from end users in warehouses, manufacturing, construction, oil and gas, renewables, commercial and other markets. Solutions that can be used by anybody but feature cutting-edge design and state-of-the-art technology are drop-shipped to customers.

The new business, powered by online equipment directory findadistributor.com, is led by Jeff Miller, general manager, while serial industry entrepreneur David Ayling is president. A consortium of ecommerce, finance and marketing professionals complete the team.

Despite the Covid-19 health crisis impacting significantly on the Lifting Industry, Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) Sector Benchmark Research reveals optimism for the post-pandemic future, and a move towards new and possibly more productive ways of working. 

Indeed, 72% of firms reported being optimistic for the next 6 months, with this increasing to 80% for the next 12 months. However, the breadth of specialisms and the number of supply chains in the sector have produced a varied picture in the research. 

LEEA does not expect the sector to return to pre-pandemic patterns of work as there are now clearly different expectations around training, travel and work patterns, according to the research. The majority of firms (over two thirds) reported their attitude towards e-training had changed in the past 12 months, with it being seen much more as an option. Training by Zoom specifically has its supporters, with nearly three quarters of firms reporting that they now see it as a more likely option. However, there is clearly a view that face-to-face training remains the preference, regardless of company size or specialism.

The Government have just announced their new guidelines of “hands, face, space, fresh air” to reduce the risk of COVID transmission. The emphasis for business is the provision of good ventilation for workers. 

EcoCooling manufacture a fresh air solution that provides ventilation and supplementary cooling in both an effective and environmentally friendly way. EcoCooling evaporative cooling technology complies with the new ventilation guidelines and can maintain temperatures below 25C all year round, keeping staff safe as well as cool.

Mark Donoghue, Products and Services Director, DHD Cooling

It is now more common to read about cases of Legionnaires’ Disease in the media than ever before, with outbreaks regularly being reported in cities around the world all the time. Many of these cases are attributed to contamination of domestic systems, showers and spas, but some are the result of operating cooling towers. 

Whilst this problem is not new, with the first reported case in Philadelphia in 1976, the UK has been at the forefront in leading the battle with Legionnaires’ Disease, which has a mortality rate of approximately 10%.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) worked with manufacturers and industry experts to issue the Approved Code of Practice L8 in 1991 which advised manufacturers, owners, operators and service providers on the use of cooling systems (and domestic water systems) and their safe operation with regards to legionella bacteria.

With a customized long-term hire, ICS Cool Energy equipped a leading multinational brewery in Burton-on-Trent with portable Cold Store solutions and replaced ammonia-based refrigeration system with high efficiency, low GWP chillers.

ICS Cool Energy, an international market leader specializing in complete temperature control solutions for manufacturing process and facilities applications, announced today it has helped a leading multinational brewery in Burton-on-Trent to fulfil their cold storage and process cooling needs. 

The brewery was looking for a partner that could answer their unique needs for cold storage within their Burton-on-Trent plant and replace the aging, ammonia-based process cooling system. ICS Cool Energy team was able to deliver a bespoke, long-term hire solution that met all their requirements. 

There is an adage that time is money, this is particularly true when it comes to production downtime.  Hold ups in production could result in lost money- a lot of lost money! 

Losses of upto £480,000 have been suggested that one of the UK’s largest automotive manufacturers could lose EACH HOUR; when they experience downtime on their paint plant.  Your overheads may not be as substantial as the above example, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the old adage you hear in every corner of business and production is true: 

Regardless of your industry and the product you manufacture, production downtime is a crucial performance indicator to monitor because of the direct impact it can have on your bottom line. More downtime equals increased spares/maintenance costs, taken directly from your profit. This could have been invested to meet more pertinent business objectives, purchasing new machinery etc.. 

Far-reaching new medical guidelines for managing injuries are among the important additions to a revised Code of Practice published by the Water Jetting Association (WJA).

The member organisation for the UK water jetting industry has revised its Blue Code of Practice for the Use of High Pressure and Ultra High Pressure Water Jetting for the first time since 2015.

It is the nineth time the Blue Code, as the document is called, has been revised or significantly amended and then republished since it was first created in 1982.

The WJA also has a ‘Red Code’ for the Safe Working and Use of Water Jetting in Drains and Sewers. It urges members and commissioning  clients to consult the codes of practice every time they need to confirm best practice in water jetting. 

In order to ensure that process plants meet hygiene requirements, industry-specific approvals and resistance to CIP/SIP media, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has developed a new series of high-performance seals for butterfly valves. The seals have been developed in conjunction with French customer Definox, one of the leading manufacturers of first class process valves and stainless steel equipment for high-end applications in sectors such as food, beverage, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and animal feed.

Following rigorous tests, 70 EPDM 291 O-rings have already been delivered to Definox, where they have been successfully deployed and demonstrated. Based on this first success, both companies decided to launch a project for the development of new butterfly seals.

As world leaders in manufacturing hazardous area portable and temporary lighting, Wolf Safety know that many customers require a bespoke solution which addresses safety, technical and logistical issues raised by a specific project.

So when the Wolf team was asked to propose a lighting solution for the inspection and maintenance of a condensate LNG tank in Norway it was an ideal opportunity to demonstrate the company’s technical expertise and bespoke service. 

This enhanced capability proved a key factor in Wolf Safety being awarded the contract, following a highly competitive international procurement process.